In the aftermath of a brutal defeat against the Dallas Mavericks (120-123) on Friday (who were without Luka Doncic), Nuggets coach Michael Malone challenged his players to step up and rally around Nikola Jokic. He called out his team for leaning too much on the 3x MVP and stressed the importance of everyone playing their role.
“I think a lot of guys exhaled cause Nikola’s back,” Malone said, per Jake Shapiro. “They expected Superman to carry the day, and that’s not fair. Do your own job. Everybody’s gotta do their job. Nikola obviously showed once again why he’s the best player in the world. Misses a week of basketball, three games, and goes out and gets a triple-double.”
Jokic, 29, was away from the team due to the birth of his son and he was listed as questionable before the Mavericks game. Fortunately, Jokic was able to play and he played up to his typical superstar standards.
The Nuggets aren’t that far removed from their impressive 2023 championship run. Led by Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets dominated the West and made history for their franchise. But ever since reaching that amazing milestone, things have been going steadily downhill.
The Nuggets are off to a sluggish start this season after a summer of inactivity. With Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, and Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets have ambitions of competing for another title but it hasn’t looked great in the first 14 games. At 8-6, 6th in the West, the Nuggets are a step behind some of the top teams, like the Warriors and Thunder.
With averages of 30.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 11.5 assists per game on 56.5% shooting, Jokic is having another MVP-caliber season and he’s been the only thing keeping them in the championship picture.
But when it comes to everyone else, it’s been nothing but failures to step up around Jokic. The biggest disappointment has been sharpshooting guard Jamal Murray, who is averaging 17.9 points and 6.9 assists per game on 39.7% shooting.
Against the Mavericks on Friday, Jokic (33 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) was the only player to crack 20 points, and he was one of just three players (Payton Watson, Trey Alexander) with a positive plus/minus. Jokic has been a one-man show for the Nuggets this season and one has to wonder how smart it was for them to lose two key role-players in back-to-back summers.
Already, the Serbian superstar has acknowledged the lack of shooting on this roster, and without any trades, the Nuggets will find it hard to keep up with some of the elite squads in the NBA. No matter what happens, Jokic will try his best to carry the Nugegts are far as he can but coach Malone has seen enough to know that it’s not sustainable.
The Western Conference is better than ever before, and the margin for error is slimmer than ever for any team hoping to get into the top six seeds. The Nuggets will need a total and complete collaboration from their players if they want any chance of being the last team standing in June.
Next up, the Nuggets play the Lakers tonight for a matchup at Crypto.com arena. They’ll have a night off before returning home to play the New York Knicks on Monday, November 25th, at 9:00 PM EST at Ball Arena.
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